How to Use Water from Reverse Osmosis for Growing Vegetables

Is water the same because it’s everywhere? The answer to this question is a huge ‘NO!’ Here is why! You may be using tap water or may have already started using Reverse Osmosis water in planting vegetables. Regardless, it’s common for us gardeners to know a lot about the types of plants, their nutrients, and growth patterns, but forget one key issue. What type of water are you using to grow your vegetables?

Green, leafy vegetables

Water is different and there is no particle which was created equal. In fact, research shows that there are types of water which are quite harmful in planting and shouldn’t be used at all. Here, we are going to look at why using Reverse Osmosis water isn’t such a bad option.

How to Use Reverse Osmosis Water in Your Vegetable Garden

Factors to consider before using Reverse Osmosis water to grow vegetables

Level of pH

Nutrient Deficiency

Using Calcium and Magnesium Supplements

Where to Get Water from Reverse Osmosis

A pool of water

Water from Reverse Osmosis is normally purchased in leading water stations, located in different cities. If this proves to be too costly for you as a farmer, you may also decide to invest in an RO technology that allows you to purify water at home.

It has now become common to find several towns and cities offering water from Reverse Osmosis in refillable containers, through different water stations. Similarly, a majority of farmers and homeowners have also installed water filter systems in their homes.

There are two methods on where and how to get water through Reverse Osmosis. Find out which works best for you, your family, and for the better growth of your vegetables!

Some Home Alternatives – Distilled Water

A glass of distilled water

It’s frankly not very hard (depending on your level of commitment) to make home distilled water. However, let us remember that you could also purchase distilled water from a water store at a relatively cheap price. Even though it seems uneconomical buying water which you could easily get from the tap, it is a good option considering the particles and chemicals often present in tap water.

So, you’re not willing to buy Reverse Osmosis water or distilled water for your vegetable garden. Your tap water is high on chlorine and other chemicals that don’t go too well with vegetables. Does this mean it’s the end of your carrot or tomato garden?

The answer is no! You can prepare distilled water easily at home. Here is how to go about it!

Take a stainless steel container and fill it up with a quarter inch of water (tap water)

Place a heat-resistant glass bowl in the container so that it floats

Take a glass plate, place it upside down and on top of it, add ice.

Turn on the gas cooker or stove and wait for the water to boil

Minimize the heat once the water starts boiling

If the ice on the glass plate melts, continue adding more

Repeat the process until you get the right quantity of distilled water. Simply, what happens is that the water in the stainless steel container heats up and then evaporates. But it comes in contact with the cold glass plate and then condenses. Lastly, it drops into the bowl and voila! There is your clean, pure water. Not much is required there, right?

Reverse Osmosis presents a less cumbersome approach to purifying water for home use, and you end getting water that’s as pure as what you’d get from distillation. An added advantage is that once you set up the system, you can rest and collect your water without much hassle.

Factors to Consider Before Using Reverse Osmosis Water to Grow Vegetables

It does not mean that because you’re using pure water to grow your vegetables that they will obviously thrive. In a real sense, there are some few factors to consider. These are:

The pH level

Nutrient Deficiencies

Identifying the nutrients that work best with water from Reverse Osmosis

The pH Level

What is its pH value?

Good Reverse Osmosis water may mostly have a neutral pH level of seven. But some vegetables prefer a lower pH. Plants such as Alpine strawberry, Carrot, Cauliflower, Corn, Cucumber, Dill, and Garlic require pH levels of about five to seven. Here is what you should do to lower the pH level in pure water.

Use sulfuric acid or nitric acid to decrease the pH levels in water. However, take great precaution as these chemicals can be highly dangerous if used inappropriately! And you should add them slowly into the water by following the user’s manual. Also, to lower the pH levels in your organic garden, another method is by adding citric acid to your water.

Nutrient Deficiencies

Get the right nutrients

For those who have chosen to grow their vegetables through hydroponic means, a challenge comes in plants facing a lack of calcium and magnesium. Why? Well, hard water contains large amounts of calcium and magnesium and by using pure water, you completely eliminate these two elements.

But let us understand that plants require a little bit of everything to survive. So, to avoid magnesium and calcium deficiency in your vegetables, we recommend you make use of the Cal-Mag supplement.

Using the Calcium and Magnesium Supplement

Good health

When using Reverse Osmosis water in planting vegetables, it is important to apply a calcium and magnesium supplement (Cal-Mag). The main reason behind this is to make sure that the minerals found in regular water but lost through the Reverse Osmosis system are recovered.

Conclusion

Even though using Reverse Osmosis water for planting vegetables may sound extravagant, the process eliminates waste particles and helps you concentrate on those elements that are needed by plants. How? By obtaining pure water through the technology, you may go on to add those minerals that are most important for the growth of your vegetable garden.

If you’re looking to start using Reverse Osmosis in your vegetable garden, then it is our hope that this article will provide you with the right kind of guidelines! Share it with other interested gardeners and individuals. Lastly, do you think Reverse Osmosis is the future of gardening or should it only be used as drinking water?

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Hey there! I’m David

Hi there, I'm David, founder and chief editor at ReverseOsmosisGo.com.
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